It's in the apps

Systems and Stores

If you like variety, the story of personal computer operating systems is probably not a place to look for thrills. There was diversity in the early years, when every system basically had its own OS, but in those days, only the computer scientists even knew what an operating system was. You know the rest of the story: Unix gained a footing in the corporate, big-iron space, with Apple and Microsoft nailing down the end-user desktop, and Linux slipping indefatigably into the mix despite the best efforts of the competition.

It is no secret that Ubuntu isn't the coolest, new-kid-on-the-block distro sensation anymore – actually that news is already a few years old. Still, Ubuntu has kept itself in the headlines with community dramas, desktop debates, and a crowd-funding effort to launch a mobile phone. The Ubuntu vision is so vast and enthralling that it is hard for the press – and the Ubuntu management – to let it go: a single unifying Linux popping up on phones, tablets, desktops, servers, and other devices that no one has even invented yet.

As you will see if you read our news, Hewlett Packard, which everyone calls HP, was big this month. The computer giant announced some sweeping changes, including sweeping changes to undo the sweeping changes they announced a few months ago.